The present invention generally relates to cotton harvesters and, more particularly, to an improved moistening pad holder and pad for applying a moistening liquid to picker spindles of a cotton harvester row unit, which provides effective moistening liquid distribution to the mounting ends of the spindles.
A typical cotton harvester includes two or more harvesting units for harvesting cotton from rows of cotton plants during a harvesting procedure. Each harvesting unit includes one or more harvesting mechanisms comprised of multiple inter-related parts. One of such mechanisms is a drum having a picker rotor assembly with doffer assemblies arranged ill combination therewith. Each picker rotor assembly includes a series of upright picker bars capable of being moved about their respective upright axes. Each picker bar has a plurality of picker spindles arranged thereon one above the other.
The picker spindles of each picker bar are rotatably driven by a driving arrangement within the picker bar. The picker spindles are each elongate, typically having a tapered or conical outer surface which extends convergingly from an inner or mounting end to a distal or free end thereof, the surface including barbs or otherwise being roughened to enhance affinity thereof for the cotton fibers. During forward motion of the machines the picker spindles are brought into contact with the cotton plants to remove the cotton. The doffer assemblies then remove the cotton from the picker spindles. The doffer assemblies typically include pairs of opposing doffer pads between which the individual picker spindles are passed to remove the cotton therefrom. The picker spindles then pass through a picker spindle moistening assembly including a series of vertically arranged moisture pads supported individually on pad holders mounted on a stand or column proximate to the path of movement of the picker spindles such that the pads are each positioned above a moistening location for applying or adding moistening liquid or fluid to each of the picker spindles before they are introduced to the cotton plants again. The moistening liquid or fluid, which is typically water, serves to cleanse the spindles of dirt, plant juices and other foreign matter which, if allowed to remain on the spindles, can result in a hard, rough surface coating that could diminish picking efficiency. Moistening the surface of the picker spindle onto which the cotton is to be wrapped for extraction from the boll has also been found to increase the picking efficiency. The addition of moisture to the spindles further facilitates subsequent doffing or wiping operations of the cotton from the spindles. In this respect, it is important to apply a metered or measured quantity of moistening liquid to the individual spindles to provide the desired effect, but which is not so much as to add significant moisture to the cotton itself, while compensating for evaporation, leakage, and other losses. Presently, most typically, to achieve the desired measured moistening, the moistening liquid is delivered to the moistening pads through conduits such as tubes and passages at a drip rate under the force of gravity only.
A variety of pad and pad holder constructions for providing the desired moistening have been proposed in the past. Reference in this regard, Deutsch et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,821,498 issued Apr. 18, 1989 to Deere and Company, which discloses one moistener pad and holder, the pad having an X shape channel extending to the corners of the pad and communicating with passages through the pad for distributing moistening liquid. Reference also Thedford U.S. Pat. No. 4,905,464 issued Mar. 6, 1990 to J.I. Case Company, which discloses another pad and holder, the pad having a K shape channel for distributing moistening liquid over the pad in an attempt to direct more of the liquid to the inner or mounting ends of the picker spindles by placing a greater number of holes through the pad over that region of the spindle.
A problem found with the prior known moistening pad holder and pad arrangements is that it has been observed that when the moistening liquid exits from the outlet of the pad holder onto the pad, the liquid passes through the one or small number of passages or holes through the pad closest to the outlet, and as a result does not reach the more distant passages or holes and the areas of the pad in the vicinity of those holes. This problem is compounded by the typical orientation of the column or stand supporting the moisture pads during the harvesting operation, which is a forwardly inclined tilt, due to a common practice of tilting or inclining the harvesting units downwardly in the forward direction for reaching the cotton plants, which results in the pads also being tilted downwardly toward the forward direction. Because of the downward forward tilting, the drips of moistening liquid supplied to the moisture pads exit from an outlet of the fluid supply tube or passage at the forwardmost edge thereof, which is typically over the forward or center portion of the pad. As a result, although the pads themselves can have a wide variety of numbers of openings therethrough at a variety of locations from the forward to rearward end and from side to side thereon, it has been observed that the fluid will pass through just a few openings nearest or just forwardly of the outlet, such that any openings nearer the rearward end of the pad are not used. Because of the relative front to rear position of the pads relative to the spindles, the fluid will be deposited on about the middle and forwardly located free end of the spindles. Once on the spindles, the fluid has a tendency to move under the centrifugal force in combination with the tapered shape of the spindles toward the free end of the spindles. This results in a lack or shortage of moisture at or adjacent to the inner or mounting end, which has been found to be disadvantageous to the picking efficiency. Thus the problem encountered is that the fluid is not adequately applied to the inner or mounting ends of the spindles, such that those ends of the spindles are still not adequately moistened, and, as a result, the surface coating can build up on the mounting ends of the spindles, and reduce picking efficiency.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an improved moistening pad holder and pad arrangement for a cotton harvester which facilitates and provides the required moistening fluid delivery to the inner or mounting ends of the spindles and overcomes the other shortcomings and problems discussed above.
According to the invention, an improved holder for supporting a moistening pad over a cotton picker spindle of a cotton harvesting unit for applying a moistening liquid directly and specifically to the mounting or inner end of the picker spindle when in the moistening location with the free end of the spindle at a forward end of the moistening location and the mounting end at a rearward end thereof, is disclosed. The moistening pad has a rearward end including at least one passage or hole therethrough, and is positioned by the pad holder in a predetermined position over the rearward end of the moistening location for contacting the mounting end of the spindle for applying the moistening liquid thereto. The holder includes a mounting element for mounting to a support element of the harvesting unit and a pad support element for holding the pad with the rearward end thereof in the predetermined position over the rearward end of the moistening location when the holder is mounted to the support element, the pad support element importantly including a drip edge or element positioned so as to be located over the rearward end of the pad when held by the pad support element for forming and dripping or similarly directing droplets of the moistening liquid onto the rearward end of the pad. A conduit is provided for carrying the moistening liquid from a source thereof to the drip edge and can have a special shape for facilitating flow of the moistening liquid to the drip edge and the operation thereof.
The drip edge preferably has a chisel shape, and the conduit preferably includes a terminal end portion which terminates at the drip edge for carrying the moistening liquid thereto, the terminal end portion being oriented at a small acute angle to horizontal so as to slope or extend downwardly toward the drip edge. The preferred shape of the drip edge having a concave shape characterized as the shape formed when a passage of circular cross section intersects a planar surface at an acute angle to the surface.
A preferred moistening pad has a rearward end positioned so as to be located over the rearward end of the moistening location when the holder is mounted to the support element of the harvesting unit, the rearward end of the pad having an upwardly facing surface including a channel located beneath the drip edge in position for receiving the droplets of the moistening liquid dripped therefrom, an opposite downwardly facing wiping face for contacting the mounting end of the spindle when in the moistening location, and at least one passage extending through the rearward end of pad from the channel to the wiping face for flow of the moistening liquid from the channel to the wiping face.
The pad can also optionally have a forward end positioned to be located over the forward end of the moistening location when the holder is mounted to the support element of the harvesting unit, the forward end of the pad having an upper surface including a forwardly extending forward channel extension connected to the channel of the rearward end of the pad and an opposite wiping face for contacting the distal end of the spindle when in the moistening location, at least one passage through the pad connecting the forward channel extension to the wiping face, and an upwardly extending dam located between the channel and the forward channel extension, the dam having a predetermined height or upward extent relative to the channel so as to prevent passage of the liquid from the channel to the forward channel extension when a level of the liquid in the channel is at or below a predetermined level required for flow over the predetermined height or upward extent.
Using the present moistening pad holder and the preferred moistening pad, the moistening liquid is directed specifically and directly to the mounting or inner end of the spindles, via the location of the drip edge of the pad holder and the channel of the rearward end of the pad.